


Sorry I've been away (Ask Me To Stay)

by WriterOfFanFics



Category: McBusted (Band), McFly
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-12 21:57:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13556397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterOfFanFics/pseuds/WriterOfFanFics
Summary: Tom gets a phone call in the middle of the night from someone who he hasn't heard from in awhile.Can be read as friends or dating.





	Sorry I've been away (Ask Me To Stay)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JtGD](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JtGD/gifts).



> This is for my friend, who I haven't spoken to in months. I kept forgetting to reply and then it became too long to just reply so I figured write a fic and give it to you as a birthday present. This is a bit darker than I intended, but it has a happy ending. Anyway, I hope you like it and happy birthday.

"Tom?" The voice said through the phone. "Tom, did you hear me?"

Tom stared at the phone in his hand, the voice, while not unwelcome, felt like a ghost. He hadn't expected to hear the voice again for a long time, maybe ever. Tom knew he was being ridiculous, this was the voice of one of his friends, they'd talk to him again. It just felt strange, felt like he was still sleeping.

The last time he had heard from him they were having a fight. Well, no, that's not correct. They were just talking then he started to yell at Tom, stormed out of his own house. He told Tom to mind his own business, to stop acting like a parent and to just act like a friend, to which Tom replied, "I am acting like a friend. I just want what's best for you!"

"Oh, and you know what's best for me?" The other man challenged.

"I know it's not this. Not what you're doing now. It's not right, it's not good." Tom tried to reason with him, panic edging his way into his voice.

"Is this about the band?" He stared into Tom's eyes and saw the flash of rage there.

"How dare you." Tom spat. "I don't care about the band, I care about you."

"Oh, sure." The man scoffed.

"I would give up everything: the albums, the tours, the money, the fame, the _music_. I would give it all up if it meant making sure you were okay. I'd do it for any of you." Tom's gaze was intense and he was trying to keep from shouting, he didn't need to give him a reason to run away.

"You think you can just walk in here, say something nice like that and make everything okay?" He sneered. "You knew, there's no way you couldn't have known. You knew for so long and you just watched me, you sat and did nothing as I fell down deeper."

"You really think that I knew?" Tom wasn't sure how to feel at this point. "Believe me, I had no idea. I thought you were fine-"

"I am fine!" The man shouted.

"You are not fine." Tom shook his head. "Take a look at yourself, you haven't showered for three days, you reek of alcohol and when I came in here you admitted to me that you wanted to kill yourself." Tom's voice felt tight. "You told me that last week you tried to kill yourself."

"Don't." He felt tears starting to roll out of his eyes. "Please, don't."

"Please don't what? Say it like it really is? Who else is going to?" Tom could feel his worry starting to fade into done-ness. "You need help."

"Not from you!" He screamed in rage. "You don't know, you hardly even care. And don't say you do care!" He shouted when Tom opened his mouth to refute. "You care about one thing and one thing only."

"Do you really think that, please, I just want to-"

"You just want to control me!" He roared. "Just like you want to control everyone in your life!"

"That's not it." Tom wanted to get through to his friend.

"Like hell it isn't!" His voice started to feel wrecked from shouting. "Spare me from Saint Tom. In fact, spare me from Tom in general." And with that, he turned around and ran out of the door. 

Tom stood there for a minute as he tried to wrap his head around what happened. When his feet finally started to move and he made it out of the door, he couldn't find him anywhere. He panicked until Harry called him and told him that he was fine, he just didn't want to see or speak to Tom.

"For how long?" Tom asked as he stood on the street. "How long until he wants to see or speak to me?"

"I don't know, man." Harry replied. "Awhile, I think. Look, I'll talk to him, try to make him see reason."

"No, don't. Just be there for him, someone has to be." Tom shook his head, Harry wouldn't let anything bad happen to him.

"It's going to be fine." Harry tried to assure him.

"I hope you're right." Tom clicked his phone off and walked home in the rain, wondering when he would see his friend again.

That was two months ago. Two months of worry and agony that eventually ran off into and dissolved into acceptance. Now, the voice he wanted to hear for so long was on the other end of the line.

"Tom?" The voice spoke again.

"Where are you?" It was the first thing Tom had said this entire conversation.

"I'm outside." Tom hoped he wasn't imagining the smile in his friend's voice.

"Stay there." Tom told him before hanging up his phone and getting out of bed to pad down to his door to open it. "It is you, you're actually here."

"Of course I am." He laughed, Tom threw his arms around him.

"Why now after all this time?" Tom didn't really care, he just wanted to know.

"You really think I'd miss your birthday?" He asked with a laugh.

"I've missed you, Dougie." Tom admitted, holding onto him tighter as if he was afraid that he would disappear. 

"I've missed you too, Tom." 

They walked into Tom's living room and talked for hours on the couch. They caught up and made a plan about how they were going to handle things now. 

"I'm sorry I've been away." Dougie admitted in a whisper.

"It's okay, Dougs. I understand." Tom placed his hand on Dougie's knee and ignored the park he felt.

"Do you want me to stay?" Dougie asked, placing his hand over Tom's. Tom nodded with an audible swallow. "Ask me to stay." Dougie didn't say why he wanted to be asked but Tom knew why, he wanted to know that he had a choice. Tom wasn't controlling him, he was choosing to be with Tom.

"Will you stay with me this time?" Tom asked.

"Yes." Tom almost kissed Dougie then, but he didn't want to cross a line, he didn't even know if there was one to cross. So instead he and Dougie spent the night next to each other, enjoying that fact that they were both still here.

Dougie swore he was okay and Tom believed him. It would take almost a half of a year and Dougie to start drinking again for them both to agree that Dougie needed help but neither worried, they had each other and they knew they would be okay.

Everything would be okay.


End file.
